India on Monday was set to launch its first satellite to be used exclusively for education which will connect classrooms in remote parts of the country, the space agency said.
The Edusat satellite weighing 1 950kg will be launched at 4:01pm (10.31am GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, said S Krishnamurthy, spokesperson for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Krishnamurthy said the satellite, built with a mission life of seven years, will transmit information that will help train teachers and provide primary and university education in remote regions.
Initially universities from three states — southern Karnataka, western Maharashtra and central Madhya Pradesh — will be linked through the satellite. In the second phase the satellite will reach two more states and connect more than 1 000 classrooms.
”When it is fully operational the Indian Space Research Organisation will provide technical support in the replication of Edusat ground systems to manufacturers and service providers,” Krishnamurthy said.
The satellite will be sent into space by India’s locally-built Geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle which can carry communication satellites weighing up to 2 000kg.
India has been eyeing the lucrative launch market. The government last year approved an ambitious plan to send an unmanned mission to the moon by 2008, budgeting $83-million for the project.
Of the 135 transponders India has in space, 11 are leased to the United States-based firm Intelsat, bringing in $10-million over a five-year period.
Another 24 of the transponders are used by India’s state-run television, with the rest mostly leased by private operators. – Sapa-AFP